NEWS

Danilynn Welniak Guest Speaks to AWSM@OSU

On March 27, AWSM@OSU hosted one of its most impressive guest speakers. Danilynn Welniak made the journey from Dodge City, Kan., to share her insight and knowledge into sports reporting. Danilynn graduated from Oklahoma State in 2011 and landed a job immediately as a sports reporter at KWCH 12 Eyewitness News. But before finding great success in just one year in the sports media world, she was a Cowgirl. In her time at OSU, she was involved in AWSM@OSU and was also a huge succes as a student, being named Outstanding Sports Media Student her senior year. Because she isn't already impressive enough, Danilynn is also a former professional football player. She won a Super Bowl with the Dallas Diamonds and a gold medal with Team USA. Danilynn gave an extremely impressive presentation to AWSM@OSU. She made a six-minute video of a tour of where she works and exactly what she does. It was a great way to show members what she does instead of just telling us. She also brought prizes for those who asked questions. Danilynn stressed the importance of the first job. She spoke of how tough it can be but that it is worth it because of how much she is learning. Danilynn is required to shoot, edit, write and produce. She said learning all those skills is going to make her that much more valuable as she continues on in the industry. Danilynn was a great guest speaker. After just one year, she was so full of knowledge and advice and members were ready to take it all in. She is a perfect example of the values that AWSM promotes, and she is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the sports media industry.

Lunch with OSU grad/ESPNU production assistant

On Saturday, I (Corinne Meyerson/AWSM@OSU vice president) got lunch with Mariah Gearhart (shown on left in picture), a former OSU softball player and broadcasting major. Gearhart, also a former AWSM@OSU member, landed a job as a production assistant at ESPNU in Charlotte, N.C., and has been there for five months. Here's what she had to say about her new job and the importance of networking:

CM: What exactly do you do at ESPNU as a production assistant?MG: Everything you see on the TV, I help create. So, all of the topic bars that are
at the bottom of the screen, I’ll be creating them next month. The clips you see while people are
talking, like highlights from games, I put those together. The highlights you see on the weekends like you see on Sports Center, I do those on ESPNU. Working highlight shifts every Saturday is just craziness, but that’s just the main thing right now, just with football season. And in the spring, I’m going to work every single event that ESPNU is covering for softball.CM: What is the best part about your job?MG: My favorite part is that I get to see every single sporting event. Living in Charlotte, not every Oklahoma State game is on; so, if I miss a game, I get to go back and watch it at work. And also, my co-workers are so awesome. To think you’re in such a high stress environment in this industry, every single day. We always tell each other at the end of the day that it’s just television, and that’s what keeps us together from pretty much trying to cut each other’s throats off. But it’s so awesome to have people who are so relaxed and so understanding. We all help each other out. If someone has four highlights to do in 30 minutes, we’ll be like, 'I have nothing to do, I’ll take two of them.'

CM: How important is networking in this industry?MG: Networking is so important. Literally, I think it is the most important thing if you’re going to be in this industry. It’s all about who you know, and that’s how you get the hookups. It’s easy to learn what you’re going to be doing and people will teach you. Its not really a matter of, ‘Oh this person has the best skills;’ that may not be the only thing that gets your foot in the door. It’s going to be knowing that person who know you have the skills. I keep all my contacts with everyone that I meet. You never know what you’re going to need from someone. Once you get into the industry, you’re still going to need help from everyone.

CM: So, why is getting involved with an organization like AWSM@OSU important?MG: Exactly with what I was just talking about. Networking.
That’s such an easy way to automatically get to know so many people, and
especially if everyone ends up branching out in the group. AWSM is a perfect opportunity to start your networking from the ground up.

AWSM@OSU's first recruiting event

AWSM@OSU had its first recruiting event on Wednesday and Thursday! We had a bake sale, and overall, it was a huge success. We had a lot of people come by interested in AWSM@OSU and sold lots of treats. We're thinking that bake sales will be a staple in the future of AWSM@OSU. If you missed out, we will likely have one in the spring, as well!